The use of disposable menstrual pads is a driver for climate change. This is true, even though not many people know that the cellulose fiber that forms the absorbent core in 99% of menstrual pads made and sold globally is derived by cutting down trees. A few groups in the world are now using banana fiber instead of the conventional cellulose fiber to make menstrual pads. Even though banana fiber is also a type of cellulose fiber, there is an important difference. The banana tree fruits only once. After harvest, the tree is cut down and the fiber is derived from this agricultural waste. No trees are destroyed to obtain the fiber.
Most other groups that use banana fiber make disposable pads
we are one of the very few that makes reusable pads. We were guided by the thinking that even though banana fiber is obtained from waste, it is still far too precious to be used once and thrown away. The planet does not have endless resources to endlessly support the making of anything disposable.
In the two plus years since launch (in October 2017), we estimate that 5000+ girls and women have made the switch to these reusable pads. We have sold the pads in cities and rural areas and distributed for free as well in impoverished communities.
Today women groups in seven states of India make these pads, viz. Bihar, West Bengal, Odhisa, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. It has become a means for income generation for about 100 women. The biggest group is in Bihar where about 25 women in 4 neighboring villages are engaged in the production of these pads. The group recently won a major order from the Bihar State Government for supplying these pads all over the state. Nearly 1500 sets will be made and supplied monthly. These, in turn, will be sold by about 20 women in all rural districts of Bihar.
As developing countries such as India seek to provide a reliable means to manage menstruation to hundreds of thousands of women who do not use disposable pads, eco friendly solutions such as Saukhyam can ensure that this is done without large-scale destruction of trees. Saukhyam has won the Most Innovative Product Award from the National Institute of Rural Development in India. It was lauded at the Climate Change Conference in Poland in December 2018 for its sustainable financing mechanism.
Comments